Employers are urged to tighten up on road safety
Bosses are urged to help reduce death on the roads this winter, with statistics warning that more than 65 per cent of all company car drivers will be involved in a road accident in the next 12 months. With nearly all accidents down to human error, in some cases these will rebound on the employer.
Employers are now legally obliged to make sure their staff are driving safely and if they cannot show they have the proper policies and procedures in place, they will be liable for prosecution.
It is officially estimated that one third of UK road accidents concern business drivers, involving around 20 fatalities and 250 serious injuries every week and human error will be a contributing factor in more than 95 per cent of cases.
Use of mobile phones whilst behind the wheel is increasingly becoming a cause of accidents, and prosecution, even when using a hands-free device. To that end, employers should not ask their staff to make or receive calls while driving. Using a hands-free phone isn’t on its own an offence, but if someone is distracted because he or she is on the phone and then drives badly, the police can prosecute for failing to have proper control of the vehicle.
Research has shown that the reaction times of drivers using mobile phones are up to 50 per cent slower than normal, and other research suggests that someone using a mobile phone while driving is four times more likely to have a crash.
The penalties on conviction include heavy fines, endorsement, disqualification and, in serious cases, imprisonment. If a company is thought to be at fault, the Health and Safety Executive can bring a prosecution and an individual manager can face unlimited fines in court. Furthermore, separate charges of individual or corporate manslaughter could be brought at the discretion of the police and the Crown Prosecution Service, with the possibility of jail terms if it is found that the company or its managers did not conform to Occupational Road Risk Legislation.
But companies will have a defence if they have a proper risk assessment policy and take reasonable and practical steps to limit the risk; including education, skills updates, driving assessments and further training.
Employers must:
- Make sure all staff are aware that they should not make or receive calls on a mobile phone while driving
- Ensure that journey plans include time to stop for rest, refreshment and to respond to any messages
- Review work practices to ensure they do not pressurise staff into making or receiving calls when driving
- Require staff involved in any crash when driving at work to report it to their line manager – then take action to prevent repeat occurrences
01 February 2008
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